The Truth Behind Good Friday 7-11

If we were to insert the word "on" into the previously examined passages, then they would say something like, Jesus would be raised "on" the third day.  This addition somewhat agrees with the philosophy of those who truly believe that Jesus was crucified and died on Friday, where they claim that Jesus was in the tomb for part of the day on Friday, all day Saturday, and part of Sunday and that he rose "on" this third day from the grave.  The problem with this interpretation is that the thirty-first verse of the eight chapter of the book according to the gospel of Mark, tells a slightly different story.

And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31).

Please note that this passage did not use any words that would imply that Jesus was to be raise in three days or that he would be raise on the third day.  This passage clearly states that after three days Jesus would be raise again, which is somewhat different from what the earlier passages that we examined appeared to imply.  They appeared to suggest that Jesus would be raised again "on" the third day.  But what if the meaning of the earlier passages were intended to be interpreted as after the third day, instead of "on" the third day?  If this interpretation was used of the earlier passages, then they would all be in agreement with this passage, which would show that intent was to say that Jesus would be raised after three days or after the third day.

The Truth Behind Good Friday 6-11

Now, according to our research, we discovered that there was darkness upon the land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour.  We also discovered that the sixth hour translated to be the noon hour and the ninth hour translated to be the three o’clock hour.  This means that there be a very high probability that sunset would be around the twelfth hour or the six o’clock hour.

Now there are some who argue that we do not know how they accounted for their time during those days.  They argue that there is no way to determine that there was only twenty-four hours in a day.  They argue that there could have used any number of hours to determine what constituted a day back then.  They say that no one can know for sure.  But according to the scriptures, Jesus states exactly how many hours there were in a day.

Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?

If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world (John 11:9).

In this passage, Jesus poses the question, Are there not twelve hours in the day?  One could safely assume that if there be twelve hours in the day, then there would equally be twelve hours in the night.  But Jesus goes on to say that if the man walk in the day, he will not stumble because he can see by the light of this world.  So, what do you imagine the light of this world to be?  Could he possibly be talking about the twelve hours of daylight that is provided by the sun?

The Truth Behind Good Friday 5-11

We have also established that the next evening following the Sabbath would have been Saturday evening after sunset.  This day would have continued to Sunday evening before sunset.  Now according to the scriptures, upon the first day of the week, very early the next morning, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome carried the sweet spices that they had gathered to anoint the body to the tomb.  Since we know that the women rested on the Sabbath as was required by law and the scriptures say that they went early the next morning, while it was still dark just as the new day was dawning, then we can deduce from this description that the next morning had to be Sunday morning before sunrise.  We know that as they arrive at the tomb, they found the rock blocking the entrance to the tomb had already been rolled away and that the tomb was empty.

Day	Actual Definition	Identifying Event for the Day
Day 7 Last day of the week	Friday evening after sunset Saturday evening before sunset	The Sabbath Day
Day 1 First day of the week	Saturday evening after sunset Sunday evening before sunset	Saturday evening would have been the next evening following the Sabbath.  When the women arrived at the tomb early Sunday morning before sunrise, they found the rock blocking the entrance to the tomb had already been rolled away and that the tomb was empty.

The Truth Behind Good Friday 4-11

According to what was written in the Gospels, it was about the sixth hour and all of the land was dark for the next three hour, until the ninth hour.  Now some scholars say that the sixth hour was actually noon.  And if this be true, then the ninth hour would actually be three o’clock in the afternoon.  And it was in the ninth hour that Jesus gave his famous loud cry, saying Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?  These words have been translated to say, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Eventually, Jesus bowed his head, breathed his last, and gave up his spirit.

The scriptures tell us that it was the day of preparation and the Jewish leaders did not want the victims hanging there on the cross the next day, which was the Sabbath; a very special Sabbath at that, for it was the Passover so the Jews made a request of Pilate, asking him to place an order that the legs of the men broken.  This would hasten their deaths and then their bodies could be taken down and taken away.  So, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first of the two men, who were crucified with Jesus.  Then they came and broke the legs of the second man.  But when they came to Jesus, to break his legs, the found that he was already dead at that time, so they did not break his legs.

The Truth Behind Good Friday 3-11

Now that we have found out information surrounding the resurrection of Jesus and we have found out how days were counted during this time period, let us see if we can determine when Jesus actually died and was buried as it is told according to the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  As stated earlier, tradition has Jesus’ death and burial occurring on the Friday before his Sunday resurrection.  Let us see what the scriptures have to say.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour (Matthew 27:45).

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas (Clopas), and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!  Then saith he

to the disciple, Behold thy mother!  And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home (John 19:25-27).

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?  that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?  Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias (Elijah) (Matthew 27:46-47).

The Truth Behind Good Friday 2-11

There has been much discussion and much controversy surrounding what many Christians celebrate as Good Friday.  This has traditionally been the Friday before Easter Sunday that is traditionally used to commemorate the day Jesus was crucified and died at a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull (Matthew 27:33).

According to what was written in the Gospels, the next evening, which was after the Sabbath had ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, went out and purchased some sweet spices that they might anoint the body of Jesus.  It is important to remember that the Sabbath during this time went from Friday evening at sunset to Saturday evening at sunset.  By keeping this fact in mind, we know that when the scriptures uses the phrase the next evening, which was after the Sabbath, the scriptures are actually referring to Sunday evening, just after sunset.  Now we know that this may become a little confusing, especially trying to keep the days straight in one’s mind using this method of counting, but this was how the days were counted when Jesus rose from the grave.

After examining the first chapter of the first book of Genesis you can see from the very beginning, from the very first day until the sixth day, God determined that each day would begin in the evening, continue through the next morning, and end at the beginning of the next evening.  This is slightly different from how we presently refer to and count a day.  We start at midnight, calling that the morning, and consider that to be the start of the day.  We continue through the evening, considering that to be the end of the day until we get to midnight again, which begins the next day.  You can also see from those passages that God did not name the actually day, just the method by which a day was referred to and counted.

The Truth Behind Good Friday 1-11

This is an eleven part series designed to discover the truth behind one of the most discussed events in the history of religion, the crucifixion of Jesus the Christ.  While we have focused our efforts on what many call and celebrate as Good Friday, our intent is to provide you enough information that it will add to your understanding of the events surrounding the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  Please know that this is a slimmed down version of the original text, however we trust that there will be enough information to stimulate your thought processors so that you can think outside of the box of our earthly reality and come to a spiritual understanding of the truth as this story unfolds through the word of God.  By the end of this series, we will have will have explored the resurrection of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus, and many of the points in between, just to discover the truth behind Good Friday.  So grab your Bible and let us begin the journey.

We start with the story of the resurrection of Christ as it is told according to the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.